Daily news

Microsatellite Startup Astranis Raises $90 Million
to Power Next Generation of Internet Connectivity

Feb. 13, 2020

Astranis announced a $90 million
financing round to launch its first commercial satellite
and build the foundation for the internet infrastructure
of the future. The round was led by Venrock, with
significant participation from existing investor
Andreessen Horowitz.

Astranis aims to solve a problem in
the modern space race that hasn't been cracked: bringing
the next four billion people online with low-cost,
reliable internet. The $120 billion market is growing
quickly – demand for internet is rising 40% per year,
every year – but until now, there has been no practical,
cost-effective solution for bringing internet access to
remote parts of the world. Astranis is singularly
focused on solving this problem.

"Global connectivity is an industry
prime for disruption," said Ethan Batraski, partner at
Venrock. "Astranis's team and microsatellite technology
put them in a strong position to fulfill the needs of
the new market, which is vastly different than the
market of 20 or 30 years ago."

Astranis is building a
first-of-its-kind micro-geostationary orbit (GEO)
satellite that is 20 times smaller in size than that of
its predecessors – just 350 kg – compared to traditional
satellites that are upwards of 6,500 kg. Its secret
sauce is a flexible, ultra-wideband software-defined
radio technology, which allows Astranis to replace heavy
and bulky analog radio hardware with lightweight,
compact, digital alternatives. The satellites are small
enough to be manufactured and launched in months instead
of years, all with more bandwidth than was previously
possible with the same form size.

"We know that increasing internet
access can change lives for the better, especially for
people living in developing countries and the world's
most remote locations," said John Gedmark, CEO and
co-founder of Astranis. "By connecting those who need
connectivity the most, we're encouraging health,
learning, and entrepreneurship across the world."

The Series B round includes $40
million of equity financing led by Venrock with
continued investment from Andreessen Horowitz and
participation from existing investors Fifty Years,
Refactor Capital, and Y Combinator, among other funds
and angel investors. The recent fundraising also
includes a debt facility of up to $50 million from
TriplePoint Capital, which Astranis will use to support
current and future projects. The company is in talks to
kick off new projects around the world in 2020 and 2021
by partnering with internet service providers (ISPs),
established satellite operators, governments, and many
others. Astranis has raised more than $108 million in
financing to date. As part of the most recent financing
round, Ethan Batraski and Dan Berkenstock, founding CEO
of Skybox, joined the Astranis Board of Directors.

Astranis was founded in 2015 by
John Gedmark and Ryan McLinko. Astranis's world-class
team includes leaders and engineers from premier
satellite and space programs, including SpaceX, Boeing,
Lockheed Martin, Skybox, Planet Labs, and NASA, in
addition to top talent from Qualcomm, Apple, and Google.
After tripling its headcount in 2019, Astranis is now a
team of over 100 people.